ATWT: Luke & Noah  Together
by legendweaver
Summary: Countless times Luke has imagined taking Noah to bed. Now fresh out of the hospital, his future full of doubt, Luke knows that moment can never be as he fantasized. But does it have to be? This story takes place right after the October 24, 2007 episode.


_Continuity note: This story takes place after the October 24th, 2007 episode. _

**TOGETHER**

Luke leaned back against the pillows, sighing. The weariness settling over him and weighing down his chest left him too tired for sleep. Hoping to unwind with one of the movies Maddie had brought over, he'd popped in the DVD before managing to climb into bed. It helped that the arms on his wheelchair could drop low enough to make the maneuver easy enough, but the warmth of the night still prompted him to take off his shirt.

He tried to focus on the film again and gave up. No matter how hard he tried to get into it, the movie didn't hold his interest.

"Sorry, Maddie," Luke mumbled, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile. He'd have to think of a way to tell her the movie sucked and still keep their friendship.

The glow from the TV at the opposite end of the bed cast weird shadows around the bedroom. He watched the bluish light flicker across the bed sheet pulled up to his bare waist and dart over the curved handles of the wheel chair next to his bed. He held his stare at that spot for a moment, his frustration rising up as a lump in his throat. The first meeting with his physical therapist replayed itself in his mind, along with the hurt afterwards when Noah had tried to pull away from him. Again.

Doubt was something Luke understood well enough. It had gnawed at his gut while the physical therapist briefed him over the exercises, the uncertainty taunting him, mocking him. Afterwards, the same fear had been etched on Noah's face, if not for different reasons. Both men needed to heal, together.

For the hundredth time that night, Luke wished that Noah had accepted his invitation to stay over. But that look of doubt and fear had flashed through Noah's eyes as he politely declined and said goodnight. He ducked out of the kitchen, leaving Luke to feel a little stupid for having asked such a personal thing in the first place. Staying over would've rushed things too much, putting unnecessary pressure and expectations on each other that neither man was ready to rise to.

_Rise to. _"Heh," Luke laughed dryly to himself. "Oh, to hell with it." He sighed and reached for the remote, the TV screen going black.

A knock sounded on the door and a man called out softly. "Luke?"

_Noah._ Luke switched on the bedside lamp as the door swung in, his friend filling the darkened doorway.

"Hi." Noah hung onto the doorknob and he looked into the room with a worried, self-conscious frown. "I'm not waking you, am I?"

"No, no." Luke propped himself up on his elbows, surprised to see the other man. "I couldn't sleep so I was just watching some TV…" His words trailed off and he offered Noah a crooked grin. "Or trying to, anyway. What are you doing back here? It's so late."

Noah stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "I never left."

Luke raised an eyebrow.

"I wandered as far as the pond, but kept turning back." Noah crossed the floor and stood at the foot of the bed, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

"I'm glad you did," Luke said softly.

"Me too." Noah sat on the edge on the bed, his fingers toying with the rumpled edge of the blanket. His lips pressed together, giving the impression that he had more to say, though he couldn't seem to find the right words.

"What's going on?" Luke nudged his shoulder.

Noah glanced up. His brow creased, his eyes full of expectancy and hope. "I -- I want to spend the night."

That wasn't anything Luke had expected, though everything he'd hoped for. But there came the fear again, pecking at his insides and leaving him shaken. His mouth slipped open, breath caught in his throat.

"Noah, I…" Luke's voice cracked. He turned his head to face out the window, anything to avoid looking into those soulful eyes. The warm breeze that had encouraged him to take off his shirt curled over his chest, so much like a lover's touch that the sensation made his heart ache. "This isn't a good idea."

The bed creaked under the shift of Noah's weight as he leaned over. Soft lips touched the naked skin above Luke's collar, more a caress than an actual kiss. The tenderness of the gesture sent a heated current through Luke's neck that spread across his cheeks in a blush, his heart beating faster. Another kiss followed. This time, lips brushed the edge of his jaw where his teeth were clamped together tight enough to send a throbbing pain down the sides of his face. The warmth spread further, sweeping down Luke's chest, into the pit of his stomach…and nowhere else.

He'd spent so many nights imaging his first time sleeping together with Noah, dreaming of the feel of their bodies pressed close together under a shared blanket. Absently playing with himself in the dark, he pretended it was Noah's hand gliding up and down his penis, making him come rapturously over his thighs. Even before he'd opened up to Noah about his crush, Luke had fantasized what it would be like to run their hands over each other's naked skin, discovering the pleasures they could give each other.

There wasn't much to share anymore.

Luke squeezed his eyes shut against the wetness blurring his vision. "I can't do this. Noah, I'm sorry."

Those gentle lips withdrew from his neck. "Why?"

"Why?" Luke laughed, but not out of bitterness. He didn't regret anything, only that their time together had been so short before…before the hospital. The wheelchair. "I just…can't," he turned to face Noah.

"It's not what we_can't_ do together that matters." Noah offered him a small smile.

When Luke started to protest, but his words were lost as Noah's mouth covered his. At first a gentle, delicate reminder of how much they cared for each other, the kiss deepened and drew out the longing in both men. Luke pushed up into Noah, his hand reaching up to stroke the back of the other man's neck. As their lips moved together in slow, purposeful caresses, the passion shared between them cut deep straight to the core of Luke's being.

He pulled away, breathing heavily, and eased back down on to the bed. Noah kicked off his sneakers and swung his legs on to the mattress. Curling up beside Luke, he wrapped an arm around his waist and buried his face against Luke's neck. His breath grazed the skin in warm, humid puffs, his eyelashes fluttering and tickling the spot below Luke's ear every time Noah blinked. His presence wrapped around Luke, surrounding him, filling him.

Luke reached between them. His hand found the rounded jut of Noah's erection pushed up against his imperceptive thigh, and Luke bit down on his lower lip. He cursed under his breath, frustrated and shaking.

Silently, Noah pulled Luke's hand away and drew it up to the side of his face. He invited Luke to touch the warmth of his cheek and the faint, scratchy stubble on his jaw instead.

Nothing had ever felt so good.

Smiling, Luke held Noah. The press of his chest on Luke's shoulder, the shared heat of their bodies -- that was something they could share together, now. Maybe even forever.


End file.
